Over the previous four weeks we have been considering what the Bible has to say about how nations are to be governed and the relationship of the Christian to the state. So far we have observed that Christians may not simply choose to opt out of the political process. We have an obligation to reclaim every part of this world for service and the honour of the Lord God Almighty, and that includes the government of the nation.
We have also reviewed various passages in Scripture which refer to the state, and we saw that all of creation belongs to God; that ALL authority only exists because God instituted it; that we are to submit to the governing authority; and we saw some examples of when we are to resist authority and when we might use it to good advantage.
We next took note of how God, being the Creator, did not lose interest in His creation even though it has become corrupted and ruined by sin, but that God established the state authority in order to restrain evil, and to order and regulate the external actions of her people.
What we have not been able to discover is the particular form of civil government God approves. It appears that God has not given his approval to a particular form of civil government, or defined a certain form of government that has His design approval. This means that no one can claim that democracy is the Biblically approved form of state government. There are some nation states which present the idea that democracy is the only acceptable form of civil government, and for some that has become a religion in its own right. We cannot say that as Christians. What we can say is that God requires His people to submit to the governing authorities (Rom 13; 1 Pet 2:13-17).
This then brings us to the question of whether there are limits to the authority a civil government may exercise. We have already indicated from an Old Testament example (Daniel) that there are, and when the state reaches beyond these limits Christians have an obligation before God to honour Him, and not submit to the state.
Perhaps I can best put it like this - when a state takes to itself dictatorship powers, in the sense of absolute powers, it is taking upon itself authority belonging to God alone.
The power of the state is that which God gives it. The authority belongs to God and He establishes the state. Therefore the state may not seek to seize or exercise any power beyond that which God gave it in the ordering of the external actions of the people and nation. Should the state do so however, it acts contrary to the purpose for which God established it.
Whether the leaders of the state recognise it or not, they are under God, and they may never ask people to disobey God.
Think back again to Shadrach Meshach and Abednigo who were thrown into a white hot furnace for refusing to pray to a false god. Take note of Daniel in this regard as well. He was cast into a den of lions for the same reason. These men were put into the position of having to choose between obedience to God or the state. They chose God, and God placed His approval and protection over them.
You may also remember the apostles in Acts 4. Ordered by the authorities not to preach in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, their response was to ask whether it is right in sight of God to obey them or God, and they rejected the authorities on this matter (Acts 4:17-20).
As I noted here last week, we have an obligation before God and under God to submit to the authority of the state, but the state has no rights to control or seek to control the opinions or thinking of her citizens. Our duty is always and in every part and sphere of life to honour God. In seeking to be serious about that, which is the most important of all our duties and desires, we may need to take active involvement in activities and associations that are not specifically Christian. Yet, as Christians we will do our best to influence those occasions with morally and ethically sound ideas that are formed and clearly founded on good Scriptural grounds.